Unemployment: A Male Dominated Area?

     A new Census report finds that for the first time, more women in the workforce have bachelor’s degrees than men (37 percent vs. 35).  This is a vital sign for growth among women in the workforce. With more women going to school it means that there is a larger population of them entering the workforce with an expanded skill set. We also see the discrepancy between men and women attaining high school diplomas over men: 88 percent in women to 86 percent in men.

Women in the Workforce poster from WWII

     What this correlates to is that men and women no longer have unemployment rates that are almost even. Back in 2007 both male and female unemployment was hovering around 5 percent. However as of the census data from 2009, we see male unemployment jump to 10 percent and female unemployment only rise to 8 percent. That discrepancy is the largest since World War Two.

Growth of Women acheiving higher education

     This opens up a lot of questions about how to keep men in school and how this will effect our employment landscape in the years to come. The rise in women in the workforce will drive a cultural shift that might see traditional gender roles reversed. These changes are something our society will have to deal with in the coming years. As of today though, we must focus on not only continuing to encourage women to seek higher education, but also find new ways to entice the male populous to stay in the educational system. If we do not find ways to combat this rapidly growing discrepancy we could the current economic growth start to backslide.